A Saving Grace - Jefferson/Rapunzel X-reader Pt.17

A few months after you and Jefferson had been reunited; Emma broke the curse, awakening the entire population from a waking sleep. Everyone gathered in the centre of town to berate Regina, who seemed so much less terrifying in these new mortal surroundings. She quivered as the crowds grew angrier, outraged at the deception and demanding to return to their true homes.

You and Jefferson didn’t join in, choosing instead to watch from across the street. Over the course of your time living together in the mansion, able to see Grace with her surrogate family every day, you’d talked with great excitement about the day you’d have her back. How you’d both run to her, hugging her tight and saying all the things you’d not had a chance to… But now the curse had been lifted and your courage had evaporated.  

“What if she resents me?”

"Rapunzel…” Jefferson sighed, his hands on your shoulders, “She’s missed you, almost as much as I did. She will be thrilled.”

“Yes, but…”

“Darling,” he pulled you down to sit on a bench and took hold of your hands, “What’s wrong?”

“I…I’m afraid she’s going to think I abandoned her. All the talking, the dreaming I’ve done…it was just a mask.”

He could feel your hands trembling against his own, so he scooted over to you, wrapping his arm around you and pulling you in for a hug. “Oh, my darling, I understand. We won’t do it right now, okay? We’ve got some other things to sort out before we go home anyway, so we’ll do those first, yes?”

You nodded.

“That should give you enough time to prepare.” He placed a kiss in your hair and fell silent; the pair of you watching as David…or Charming as you knew him, stood up in front of the angry mob across the street and took charge. 

Jefferson squinted, his eyes following Regina as she slinked away and into her car. He patted your leg, “Come on, darling. Time to make our feelings known.”

Xxx

Knock, knock, knock

Regina was too busy dashing around the house to hear, as she tried to pack as many things as she could into bags. 

Knock, knock, knock

“Huh?” She peered out from behind a curtain, but could only see the top of a blonde woman’s head. She crept downstairs with one of the bags, dropping it at the bottom of the stairs and tip-toeing to the door. She took a breath and unlocked it slowly, opening it just an inch.

“Hello, Regina,” Jefferson smirked.

Regina shrieked and tried to slam the door closed, but he threw his hand out, pushing against it until she stumbled backwards.

“Mind if we come in…?” He turned to you, allowing you to head in first, “I trust you remember my darling Rapunzel?”

“How could I forget?” Regina sneered.

You held your finger up, silencing her, “Ah, ah, ah Regina, I’d watch that tone if I were you.”

“Look who’s back together, again,” Regina growled, ignoring your warning, “Is it true what they say; absence makes the heart grow fonder?”

You lashed out, slapping her across the face. “How dare you!”

“I’ll take that as a yes, then,” she said, bringing her hand up to her stinging cheek and dropping her head. 

“You really are a heartless bitch, Regina,” you seethed, getting close to her and following her face. “A cruel, angry, vile excuse for a Queen.”

Jefferson moved over to the wall beside you, leaning against it and folding his arms. 

“You want to control her?” Regina asked.

“Nope.”

“Look at me!” you screamed. When she lifted her focus to you, you stood up straight, pulling your shoulders back, “I want you to know what you did…”

“I know what I did, Rapunzel! I took you away from him, from poor little Grace. I ruined your life, blah, blah, blah! ”

“I didn’t mean that…”

Jefferson frowned, “Darling?”

“When she and Rumpelstiltskin took me that day…” you glared at her, “When you pulled me away from my new-born child…and cut my hair, the magic lived.”

“What’s your point?” Regina asked.

“Well, that never happened when I was younger. When Mother cut my hair the first time, it turned black, then it turned to ash. But then Rumpelstiltskin comes along and does the same thing and it..." You smirked, "It was as if my magic was…developing.”

“Oh my goodness…”

“So just imagine how much more it could develop over, say, nine years?”

Regina’s eyes grew wide. “T…that’s…”

“…Why the curse failed on you…” Jefferson interrupted, his mouth dropping open.

You nodded, but kept her eyes on the Queen, “Being cooped up in a tower for all those years certainly gave me time to learn, to see what I could do. And now I have exactly what you have." You shifted your focus to the left, "Though judging by the hastily-packed bags at the foot of the stairs, you haven’t got yours back yet, no?”

Regina shook her head, making herself as small and inconspicuous as she could.

"Oh dear, now that is a shame."

“Wh…what are you going to do?”

“I don’t know,” you smirked, splaying your fingers and firing spells between your hands, as if you were throwing a ball back and forth, “I could take a leaf out of your book and lock you away, or perhaps curse you for all eternity, or...rip your heart out of your chest.” You stepped up, thrusting your hand towards her, causing her to scream.

“Rapunzel!” Jefferson shouted.

You tipped your head to the side, your hand hovering mere inches from her. “So you don’t want it to happen to you, Regina…but anyone else is fair game? Hmm, not nice to be on the receiving end, is it?”

Regina breathed a sigh of relief as you stepped back and sank against the wall, her eyes glossy.

Jefferson let out a loud breath and moved towards you, his arms ready to pull you into a hug, “Darling, what are you doing?”

“I’m… I’m proving a point, my love,” you whispered, your boldness evaporating and your voice catching in your throat, “She kept me locked in a room for all that time, away from you, away from…Grace.” You rolled your lips as a single tear escaped down your cheek. 

He embraced you, holding you tight and kissing your hair. “What do you want to do?”

“I…I want to go home…” you spluttered into his shoulder.

“All right, we will, just…”

Regina took this moment as her opportunity to sneak away, shuffling past you both and heading towards the kitchen. 

You lashed out, firing a spell out of your fingers and tripping her up. “Enough!” you yelled, moving away from Jefferson and stomping over to her, sprawled out on the floor. “I’m not going to hurt you, Regina, even if every inch of me wants you to suffer for what you did, but…” you sighed, dropping your shoulders, “I just want to go home…I want to go and get my baby girl back and…”

Jefferson stepped in front of you and held his hand out, pulling Regina to her feet. “Did you get that?” he growled, “We want out of this place and back to our house, without threat of you or Rumple coming along and doing this all over again. Okay?” 

She nodded, but kept her mouth shut. You shifted your weight behind him and Regina flinched. 

“Okay?!” Jefferson screamed.

“Yes! Wh…what do you need?”

“My hat, and Dotty’s shoes.”

“You can’t…”

“We’re taking the shoes, Regina! There’s not a chance in hell that I’d leave you with the means to get to us again! Did…did you not listen to a word I just said?!”

“All right, all right…” She dropped her shoulders, rolled her eyes and strode past him, giving you a wide berth as she headed for her office. You grabbed hold of Jefferson’s sleeve as you both followed her, feeling calmed just being close to him. You came to a stop in front of Regina’s grand mayoral desk and watched as she grabbed a small step and stood on it, still needing to reach on her tiptoes for the familiar hat box on top of a seven foot high bookcase. 

Jefferson moved to stand by her, taking the box from her hands and placing it on the desk. Seeing it for the first time in years, you felt an overwhelming sense of calm rush over you. He gave a short nod to you and you returned it, letting a stream of air escape from your lips. 

“So that’s that,” Regina huffed as she climbed back down from the desk brushed her hands together to banish the dust on her fingers. 

“And the other item…?” you sneered.

“Ugh, fine.” She walked past you and headed for the stairs.

“Where do you think you’re going?” Jefferson called after her.

“Gee, now where do you suppose I keep a pair of bright red sparkly stilettos, Hatter? Hmm?”

Walking into Regina’s cavernous closet, the shoes stood out a mile, their ruby red sequins dazzling in the morning sunshine. She picked them up and handed them to you, whilst Jefferson held tight to the handle of the hat box. “R…right, you’ve got everything you came for…now would you please leave?”

“Oh, it will be our pleasure to get as far away from you as possible, Regina, don’t you worry.”

You closed the distance between yourself and her, so she took a timid step backwards, her eyes fixed on your hands that never seemed to stop moving and conjuring tiny spells, “Now you listen to me… If you so much as cough in the vicinity of a portal, let alone set foot in our house ever again, I will finish you myself, do you hear? Don’t you ever come near my family again, Regina. Don’t even let it cross your mind.”

She offered a feeble nod in your direction, whilst holding her breath.

“Good,” you said, sliding a finger across her cheek, a bright spark of light kicking up as you moved away, causing her to flinch once more. You and Jefferson turned to leave, shoes and hat in hand, but when you reached the bedroom door, you called back to her over your shoulder, “And pass the message on to Rumpelstiltskin, too!” With a flick of your wrist, the doors slammed shut behind you, leaving the once fearsome Queen all alone with her thoughts.

Xxx

“What time is it?” 

“1 o’clock. Let’s give those back to their rightful owner, shall we?” Jefferson asked, pointing at the sparkling red shoes.

Heading across town, you arrived at a grand house, its style quite familiar to Jefferson with its wrap-around porch and wind chimes everywhere. He led the way, heading up the steps and taking a cautious glance around as he approached the door. 

“Everything okay, my love?”

“Yes, I…erm, just had an unexpected greeting the first time I went to Dotty’s house.” He rapped on the door twice. Curtains in the living room window were hastily parted, Dotty’s eyes searching the vicinity and growing wide when she saw him. 

A few seconds later, after pulling back many, many locks, Dotty flung the door open, her mouth gaping, “Jefferson! Oh my goodness!” She flew at him, wrapping her arms tightly around him in a friendly embrace, and offering you a warm smile. She pulled back, “Is…is this…?”

He rolled his lips and nodded, extending a hand out for you to take and pulling you forward, “This, Dotty, is my darling Rapunzel. Reunited after all this time.”

“Hello,” she beamed, before a frown took hold and consumed her joy, “I’m sorry…”

“What for?”

“Giving Regina the…shoes… For setting all the events in motion. I never meant for any of this...”

You took a step towards her and placed your hand on her shoulder, “It wasn’t your fault, Dotty. She threatened you, Granny told us at the time. She would’ve taken them from anyone.” 

She wiped at a tear that just crested her eye, and then nodded. “I know, I just…I can’t help but feel responsible. And she still has those damn shoes.”

“Oh, you mean these?” you asked, pulling them out of your deceptively sized bag, rediscovered in Jefferson’s mansion. 

“Wh…what? How?” she stammered, blinking wildly and taking them from you. “How did you get them back?”

“We asked,” you smirked, giving Jefferson a nudge. 

“Wow…” she hugged them against her chest, “Thank you so much.”

As Jefferson opened his mouth to speak, a loud meow came from the hallway behind Dotty, and a large, ginger cat wrapped itself around her legs. “Is that…Bert?” he swallowed.

“Yes, it is. I’m guessing that his curse won’t lift until we get home, though…”

“Thank goodness for that! Beware of the cat,” he chuckled to himself, reaching down and giving him a stroke. The cat hissed viciously, all the fur around his neck standing on end. Jefferson jumped backwards, readjusted his coat lapels and changed the subject, “So…what did the curse turn you into?”

“A hoarder,” she laughed, her enviable mass of red curly hair falling over her face, “A cat lady and a hoarder…a kook! That’s nice, isn’t it? Thanks Regina. You?”

“An artist.”

“Myself.”

“Huh?”

“Yeah…that was my prize. You got cats, I got my memories.”

“Oh…”

An awkward silence ensued.

“So…erm, anyway…it was lovely meeting you, Dotty, but we have somewhere to be very soon,” you piped up, clapping your hands together once and rocking on your heels. 

“Yes, yes, of course. Thanks again for the shoes; you’ve probably saved Oz, y’know.”

“Glad we could help. See you around, Dot, take care of yourself…”

“You too Jefferson, both of you…good luck!” She gave you both a hug and stepped inside, watching as you headed down the path to the sidewalk before closing the door. 

Jefferson gave your hand a gentle squeeze as you walked towards town and the bus stop, “You ready?”

“Yes, let’s do this.”

Xxx

You huddled around the corner from the bus stop, the chill of the wind almost overwhelming. You shivered, so he tugged at your scarf, pulling it a little higher around your neck. “Thank you,” you smiled, “I love you, Jefferson.” 

“I love you too,” he said, leaning in and giving you a soft kiss. “Just one more thing to do, then we go home.”

At that moment, a bright yellow school bus rolled up to the stop, the sound of children happily chatting and giggling pulling you away from his gaze. He took your hand and smiled, “Right…”

For a split second you contemplated running the other way, even planning an escape route in your head, between the parked cars and across the street and down another alleyway. Your heart pounded and you felt slightly dizzy, all the anticipation threatening to bubble over. You gripped his hand so tightly it was turning ghostly white, as he yanked you forward and round the corner toward the children, all walking in away from you. You pulled your hand out of his grip, your emotions finally managing to get their way. He glanced round at you, seeing the fear in your eyes. 

"G…Grace,” he shouted, turning to face the crowd. “Grace.”

A young girl of nine years, tall for her age and with cascading locks of golden hair like her mother, spun on her heel, a look of shock across her face. “Papa?” 

He bit his lip and bobbed his head.

“Papa!” She ran to him, falling into his arms and scrunching her eyes shut as he dropped to his knees, all of the past seeping away. You clamped your hand you’re your mouth watching them, tears streaming down your cheeks as they hugged for what felt like an eternity, reunited at last.

As she opened her eyes, she spotted you. “M..Mom…?” 

You gasped, spluttering as you nodded and took a small step forward.

Grace pulled back from Jefferson, looking for reassurance. He nodded too, offering her a smile of pure joy. She responded with a smile of her own, looking to you for a moment before returning to him.

“It’s all right, sweetheart…” 

She cautiously stepped away from her father’s arms, and moved in front of you, studying your features through squinted eyes, whilst you fidgeted and took calming breaths as casually as you could.

The wind picked up again, whipping both yours and Grace’s hair up before it passed you by. Her face instantly softened, and she knew. You were the mother she’d longed for all these years, the beautiful woman her father had told her about every night when he tucked her in to bed. You were standing in front of her, praying for her to love you, and how could she not? 

She ran to you as you fell to your knees, just like Jefferson had a moment ago, embracing each other, clinging on as if your lives depended on it. 

“I’ve waited for this moment for so long,” you whispered to her. 

“Oh, Mom…you’re just like how I pictured you...”

You leaned back, touching her cheek, “My beautiful Grace…” Your words were lost, looking into her eyes and seeing the hope and spirit that shone brightly. You pulled her into another hug, beckoning Jefferson down to join you. 

He gathered the pair of you up in his arms, kissing you both on your hair. Finally, for the first time since the day of Grace’s birth, you were a whole family. The only thing left to do now was go home.